A triaxially braided composite wheel will outperform a biaxially braided composite wheel of the same fiber and matrix for several loading conditions, including lateral impact, radial impact and bolt bearing strength. Consequently, it would be beneficial to have a triaxial braided composite wheel rim. However, challenges associated with the lay-up of triaxial braided composites have limited the use of textiles in composite wheel applications to biaxial braid or weave. In particular, the ability for a braided sheet to be formed around contoured shapes (“drapability”), is greatly decreased for triaxial braided composites over biaxial braided composites. The decreased drapability is due to the addition of circumferential (0 degree) fibers braided between the fibers of equal and opposite angles of biaxial braided composites.
One solution is to wind the fibers together using a “capstan” process in which individual fibers are pulled onto a contoured mandrel as the fibers are being wound together. The capstan process creates a contoured composite braid that corresponds with the contoured mandrel because the individual fibers are capable of being pulled at different rates as the braid is being created. For instance, as fibers are being wound onto a contoured mandrel for a wheel, fibers that correspond with larger radius regions of the wheel are pulled faster than fibers that correspond with smaller radius regions of the wheel.
Although the capstan braiding process has several advantages over other methods of forming triaxial braided composite preforms, the capstan braiding process has critical limitations. For instance, the capstan braiding process is incapable of weaving a radial section, such as radial flange. Consequently, it would be beneficial to have a process of weaving a triaxial braided composite preform that includes one or more radial portion.